Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration

The Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration is one of the biggest events in Indianapolis and the largest African-American affair in the nation. This impressive 11-day annual celebration is one of two main fundraising events organized by the Indiana Black Expo, an Indianapolis nonprofit whose mission is to address past, present, and future pressing issues that African-Americans face.

The first Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration was a two-day event held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis in 1971. While it attracted over 50,000 people, an impressive number in its own right, the rapid growth of the Expo has raised that number to more than 300,000 people that now attend each summer.

The mission of the Black Expo Summer Celebration is to celebrate the rich traditions and Indianapolis history of African-American culture, we well as to highlight the black community’s accomplishments and contributions to the Circle City. The Summer Celebration quickly outgrew its location at the Fairgrounds and was moved to the Indianapolis Convention Center a year after its inception.

Video about the Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration in at the Indiana Convention Center

Activities at the Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration include a wide variety of education and fun for Indianapolis kids and adults alike. In addition to business workshops, there are health and wellness exhibits, spiritual enrichment activities, and entertainment. In addition, you can expect to see some of the most famous people in Indianapolis taking part in the celebration. Local, national, and international celebrities add to the overall festive spirit of the event.

Indy residents understand the importance of the arts community in Indianapolis, and the Black Expo Summer Celebration highlights that important part of Indianapolis culture. A film festival is always on the lineup of things to do in Indy during the Expo. In 2008, that festival was sponsored by Heartland Truly Moving Pictures, another Indianapolis nonprofit organization. This association sponsors the successful Heartland Film Festival each year.

There are a myriad of other events that round out the Indianapolis Black Expo Summer Celebration, such as the variety of Black Business Conferences that address issues Africans-Americans face in the workplace. If you enjoy the Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration and all it has to offer the Indianapolis community, don’t miss the other premier event of the Indiana Black Expo, the Circle City Classic.